


Not Dating

by thatwriterlady



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends, Castiel Loves Dean Winchester, Childhood Sweethearts, Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Prompt Fic, fluffy goodness, happy ever after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 12:06:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7221694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the prompt picture.  Castiel and Dean are friends.  Best friends, actually, but to everyone around them it seems like so much more.  Seriously, who stands that close to someone that's just their friend, and who touches like that unless they're dating?  Charlie, the new kid in school, decides to ask that very question.</p><p>I took my own liberties with this and did my own interpretation.  I hope you all enjoy!  Scroll to the end for a collage.  ;)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Dating

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prompt fic, and it's based on the cute little picture below. I do hope you enjoy this one. I have another one completed for after this PLUS another one in the work. Then I'll be taking some time to work on time stamps for some of the older stories. I plan to start with the time stamp for Skype first and go from there. So if you're subscribed, get ready, the time stamps are coming!

[](http://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1466107665.jpg)  
[](http://www.pizap.com/u/707476471) on [piZap.com](http://www.pizap.com)

 

 

Since they had met in the fifth grade, Dean just liked being around Cas. They had met in their English class when they were put together with two other kids. Their teacher had this bright idea that the kids would all work better together if they were in groups of four. It was a monumental failure except that Dean had met Cas, and that was the best thing that had ever happened. 

Now they were at the start of their junior year of high school, and still pretty much inseparable. Wherever Cas was, Dean wanted to be there, and visa versa. They spent the night at one another’s houses every weekend, and switched whose house they were going to be at during the week in the summer. When Cas got his first job, Dean would stop by almost every day with some kind of treat for him. Just a little something to help the time pass faster for his friend, and on the days he didn’t stop by Cas was miserable, the hours dragging on until he felt like he would lose his mind. When Dean got his first job, he made sure his hours were pretty close to those of his friend so he could pick Cas up when his shift was over. On his days off Cas would stop in at Dean’s job down at the auto shop, bringing ice cream, candy, or some other kind of sweet. Dean was always thankful for them, and his smile always made Cas’ day. 

Dean had even taken to attending church every Sunday with the Novak family. His own family attended a different church as they were a different denomination, but Dean didn’t care. He showed up at the Novak house bright and early every Sunday, rode in the back of the minivan, wedged between Cas and his little sister Anna, to church and sat between Cas and his older brother Gabe once they got there. He knew the prayers by heart, could sing every hymn without needing a book, and even helped Cas run a Sunday school class. Wherever Cas was, he just...wanted to be near him. 

Cas felt the same way about Dean. From the first moment he’d laid eyes on the other boy, he’d been lost. Dean was wild and loud, sarcastic and friendly. He was like a sun burning bright in quiet little Castiel Novak’s world, and it was hard not to be pulled into his orbit. He quickly learned that Dean was different with him. His normal loud and boisterous personality became softer, gentler, and Cas soon learned that Dean seemed to be just as drawn to him as he was to Dean. Even as quiet and reserved as Cas was, he had attracted the attention of Dean Winchester, the most popular boy in the entire fifth grade. Life before Dean had been filled with bullies. Kids had pushed him around, called him names, and just been cruel in general. After Dean had come into his life though, kids were nicer, and he’d made a few other friends. But Dean was his best friend and always would be.

They had most of their classes together now. Whether it be by luck or strategic planning by some omnipotent being, the only classes they didn’t share that year were gym and science. Cas did what he could to make sure Dean stayed focused and completed his homework, and because of that, he’d been able to take advanced placement courses his first two years of high school. They had plans, too, for after high school. Even after six years of friendship, neither boy could picture their lives without the other one in it, so they had been applying to all the same colleges. Dean wanted to be a teacher. Math and science were his favorite courses. Cas was still undecided. Religious studies had sounded nice, until someone at church had told him sinners didn’t go to heaven and then implied that he was a sinner. How could that be? He prayed, he obeyed his parents, he was polite and thoughtful. There was no reason to assume he did anything that would be frowned upon in the eyes of God. That had left him with a heavy heart, but Dean had explained that even if he didn’t go into the ministry, he could teach religious studies at a university, and so he found a new dream. So far they’d heard back from two universities, but that didn’t deter either boy. They still had another year to go, and lots more to add to their transcripts.

Sometimes, like today, as they listened to their teacher droning on and on about the socioeconomic status of minorities in the United States, they had a hard time staying awake. Cas was turned in his seat, half facing Dean, but still listening and taking notes as needed. His left arm was draped across his friend’s desk, and he was only slightly aware of fingers lightly touching his skin where he had pulled the sleeve of his sweatshirt up to his elbow. At one point he looked up at Dean and smiled, and his friend smiled back. The light touches continued as he took his notes and as Dean took his own notes. The next class, Cas sat behind Dean, but he stretched his arm over his desk to touch the back of Dean’s chair. Somehow, as the class droned on, his hand came to rest on his friend’s back where it rubbed gentle circles, earning soft smiles from Dean. The next class was homeroom. Cas always had his homework done by that point in the day, so he liked to lay his head down on his desk and take a little nap. The teacher didn’t mind as long as everyone behaved. This time, though, he turned around and laid his head on Dean’s desk, smiling as he felt fingers begin to run through his constantly messy hair, or stroke his arm softly. Soon after that it became impossible not to touch. Soft brushes of hands as they walked down the hall, an arm around the other’s shoulders as they stood talking to their friends, whispers of fingertips against arms or backs in class when the teacher was preoccupied or just not able to see them. Dean felt this need to touch Cas. It was an almost physical pain to be without his hands somewhere on his friend’s body, and it didn’t take him long to realize that normal friends did not do this kind of stuff. He and Benny never touched, unless it was a clap on the back for a game well played, or they were playfully shoving one another aside in order to be the one to get the last slice of pizza. He didn’t touch Ash, or Garth, or Victor either. It was just Cas, but really, Cas was the only one he _wanted_ to touch like that. And he knew Cas liked it too because whenever Dean touched him, he smiled so bright it was as though he pulled the sunshine in and filled the room with it. It was blinding and beautiful, and he always wanted to see that look on his friend’s face. The fact that Cas touched him back, and in much the same way, was wonderful. 

Dean had been doing a lot of thinking since they had started high school. There were so many new kids, and new faces popped up every year. Kids transferred in, kids transferred out, it was the circle of high school life. And there were so many girls it was ridiculous. He knew that he was supposed to like them. Most of his friends talked about how pretty they were, or how hot. They talked about breasts and curves, and about lips and how good the girls smelled. And Dean felt nothing. Girls were just...girls. He didn’t care about their hips and how they swayed, or how they tasted like cherries or bubblegum when they were kissed. He didn’t care about how soft they might feel in his arms if he were to hold one close, or how delightful their giggles sounded. By the time he was sixteen he realized that there was probably something different about him. During one of the many sleepovers he had with Cas, he decided to ask his friend about it. If Cas thought he was weird, it would devastate him, but he would do his best to see what all the fuss was about, and ask out one of the myriad of girls that chased after him. As they lay side by side in his queen bed (he refused to let Cas sleep on the floor), fingers intertwined, he looked over at his friend.

“Cas, can I ask you something? It’s kind of serious.”

Cas had turned his head so he could look back at him. “Of course, you can ask me anything.”

“Is there something wrong with me if I don’t like girls? I don’t like them the way Benny or Victor like them. They’re always bragging about how awesome the sex is, or how good girls feel in their arms, but I have zero interest in any of that. Does that make me gay?”

Cas gave his hand a little squeeze. A gentle reassurance.

“Dean, there is nothing wrong with you. Not everyone is attracted to women. Let me ask you a question. Are you attracted to boys?”

Cas was the smart one, as far as Dean was concerned. He knew how to approach a topic with a clear head and more patience than Dean could dredge up. He knew how to make Dean think, to question things he otherwise would not question, and to give things consideration that, had anyone else brought up the topic, he’d have decked them. But Cas got away with a lot of things where Dean was concerned, and he liked that very much. So did Dean. This particular question was one he considered for several minutes. _Was_ he attracted to guys? When he thought of holding someone in his arms, it wasn’t a soft body with plump breasts he imagined, it was Cas. Cas, with his firm runner's body and flat chest. It was Cas’ smile that made the butterflies in his stomach start fluttering like mad. Cas was the one that he wanted to touch, to hold, to kiss and see what he tasted like. If he had to really think about it though, there were other guys he found attractive. He thought Chris Evans had a smoking hot body, and it had been hard to tear his eyes away from the man’s chest and butt in practically any movie the man had appeared in, and then there was Chris Pratt in Jurassic World. Dude was hot, plain and simple. But even as attractive as they were, it was Cas he wanted in his arms, not anyone else. He turned on his side, moving slowly so their fingers remained entwined.

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

“There is nothing wrong with that. It’s ok to be attracted to other boys.” Cas’ voice was soothing, calming the storm that threatened to start brewing inside of Dean.

“Ok. I’m ok with it. A-are you though? Are you ok with me being gay?” He looked up and even in the dim light, Cas could see the worry in his friend’s eyes.

“I’m perfectly fine with it, Dean. I came to terms with the fact that I, myself, am gay a long time ago. I’ve never been attracted to girls. Not in the the romantic or sexual sense. I can find them aesthetically pleasing, but that’s about the extent of it. Were you worried I would push you away?”

Dean gave a small nod. Cas sighed and pulled his hand away so he could hold his arms out to his friend. 

“Come here.”

Dean slid closer, resting his head on Cas’ chest and placing his hand over the other boy’s heart.

“Do you think we’re weird?”

“Why, because we like spending time together?” Cas countered.

“No, because…” Dean took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Because I like touching you, and I think you like touching me back. Are we weird because of that?”

“No, I don’t think we’re weird, and anyone who does is an idiot. Besides, I’ve never cared what other people thought of me.” Cas brought hand up to gently rub at his friend’s arm. Cuddling, which Dean still refused to call this, was relatively new for both of them, but it had happened one night almost by accident, and since then they did it whenever they were alone together. It gave them both a peace they didn’t seem to find anywhere else, or with anyone else. Dean closed his eyes and sighed contentedly. Cas always made him feel better. It wasn’t long before they fell asleep, both comforted by the body pressed close beside them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Life went on as usual for them both. Junior year faded into summer break and then into their senior year. By that point girls had pretty much given up on them both. While Cas avoided rumors like the plague, Dean eagerly listened to them. People believed he and his best friend in the entire world were a couple. How badly he wished that were true! If it were, he’d have permission to touch Cas in places he had only dreamed about so far, or to kiss him. They had been so firmly ensconced in one another’s lives since they were ten years old and never once had they kissed. There had been a few close calls, such as waking together in one another’s arms to find their mouths mere inches apart, but neither boy had breached the distance to bring their lips together. Dean was scared. What if Cas didn’t want that like he did? He wouldn’t risk what they had just for a chance at something he wasn’t even sure they both wanted. He needed Cas to want to kiss him too before he would try it.

Senior year meant fewer classes together, which was difficult on them both. They had homeroom together because they’d been assigned to the same teacher at the same time for all four years, and this year they had math and English together. Oh, and lunch. That was not enough for either of them though, and they frequently sought one another out in the halls between classes just for a moment to share something interesting or funny that had happened. 

The new school year also brought new faces. A perky little redhead named Celeste, who prefered to be called Charlie, had been added to their homeroom, and she was nice. She liked video games, just like Cas and Dean, and she was into Star Wars, which made her even cooler in Dean’s book. It was a lazy Friday afternoon in March as they sat bored out of their minds in study hall that Charlie struck up a conversation with Meg, the girl that sat directly in front of her. Outside of homeroom Meg ran in a popular crowd that Charlie generally avoided, but here, in homeroom, without her lackeys hanging on her every word, Meg wasn’t half bad. She nudged the dark haired girl who was busy texting and nodded towards Cas and Dean.

“Are the rumors true?” she asked softly. Meg lifted her chocolate brown eyes to look briefly at the other girl before turning to see what she was talking about. The center of the room was cleared, so the next row of desks was actually on the other side of the room, and that was where the two boys sat together. At that particular moment they were talking softly, and something Cas said made Dean’s entire face light up. Cas’ arm was stretched out across Dean’s desk and Dean was gently stroking it with just the tips of his fingers as they talked.

“What, those two? They’ve always been like that. Not always with the touching. I think I first noticed that last year, but they’ve always been like...close. I have gone to school with them both since kindergarten but they didn’t become friends until fifth grade. Once they met though? It was weird. Suddenly no one else existed. And they’re so different it’s crazy. Dean’s the jock, all loud and obnoxious, and Cas is the quiet little bookworm, but when they’re together…” She smirked and looked at Charlie. “That’s what they’re like. No one else exists. I’ve never seen them holding hands or kissing though, and I haven’t heard about them doing other stuff. I have mutual friends with Dean, and I can find out anything I want to know, but that? Not even _they_ know the answer to that question. If you want to know the answer, you’d better ask Dean and Cas themselves.”

Charlie mulled over the other girl’s words, watching as Cas laid his head down on his arm and Dean ran his fingers gently through the boy’s hair. It was sweet. She could see how much Dean cared about Cas. To be fair, she’d say Dean was in love with the other boy, and it was mutual. She snapped a couple of pics, simply because she thought they were adorable, and then stood up. Their homeroom teacher let them wander about and socialize, so he didn’t even lift his head from the book he was reading as she crossed the room, stopping next to Dean’s desk. He looked up and smiled at her.

“Hey, Charlie.” 

“Hi,” she replied cheerfully. Cas lifted his head and turned around in his seat to offer her a smile of his own.

“Hello.”

She nodded and looked between the two of them. “Can I ask you guys a question?”

Dean glanced at Cas before shrugging. “I guess.”

“Are you two dating?” she asked.

Dean grinned as Cas turned ten shades of red. His eyes widened almost comically before he managed to squeak out one word. “What?!”

Charlie grinned and bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. “I dunno, I always see you guys touching and talking so quietly. Like, I do that with my girlfriend, but not my friends. You guys just look so happy together, so I thought you were dating. Everyone thinks you have been for years.”

Dean’s grin grew wider, while Cas buried his face in his hands. Dean was a bit surprised by his friend’s reaction, considering he’d always said he didn’t care what other people thought of him. He wasn’t going to answer this question though, so he nodded at Cas. Charlie took the hint and turned to look at him. Slowly Cas dropped his hands and looked up at her. His face was still quite red. He glanced shyly over at Dean, whose grin had disappeared, replaced by one of the soft smiles reserved only for Cas.

“I have honestly never been asked that before. I...thought…” He dropped his gaze to the top of his shoes. “There was never anyone but Dean.” The words were softly spoken, but she heard them.

“So...that’s a yes?”

“Why do you care?” Cas asked suddenly, looking her right in the eye. “What does it matter to you?”

“It doesn’t, and it shouldn’t matter to anyone else here, but it matters to him. He’s in love with you, or don’t you see that?” She nodded at Dean, who almost looked thankful for her having said that. Cas turned those blue eyes on his friend as he turned around more to face him. He placed his hands on Dean’s desk and immediately they were covered by larger yet infinitely gentle ones.

“Is that true?” 

“Did you really not know that?” Dean arched one eyebrow as he smiled. Cas’ cheeks flushed red again, but this time he maintained eye contact.

“I suppose I hoped you did. I didn’t think I deserved it, though.”

“Cas, seriously? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.” Dean was ticked at hearing that, and he let it show. Cas moved his hands until his fingers were threaded together with Dean’s.

“Oh. Well, I’ve always loved you, Dean. I always will.”

Dean’s smile was so bright and filled with joy, and it made Cas happy to see it.

“So, like...are we...a couple?” Dean asked. Cas could see the hope in those green eyes he loved so much, but there was fear there too. You could love someone, sometimes deeply without wanting to actually be with them, and that was what Dean was scared of. That Cas would not want him, but he did want Dean, he always had.

“Yes, I would like that very much. And later I would like to kiss you, but not in school.”

Dean held his hands a little tighter as he nodded. “Yeah, Cas, I want that too.”

Neither boy had noticed the nosey little redhead slink back across the room to her seat and plop back down in it.

“Well?” Meg asked.

“Oh yeah, they’re dating. Head over heels in love with each other.” Charlie snorted. 

Meg smirked. “Knew it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Twenty Year Reunion**

It was a casual affair, being held at a local forest preserve where everyone could bring their families and enjoy a day of games, barbecuing, and reacquainting themselves with their old classmates, and the turnout had been better than anyone had expected. Of the three hundred and thirty eight people in their senior class, two hundred and ninety seven had shown up for this. Charlie, despite only having attended Carter High for one year, had organized this reunion, and had spent the better part of the last three years spreading the word and waiting for classmates to get in touch with her on Facebook so she could friend them and give the official invite. She’d been able to contact roughly three hundred and twenty of their former classmates. She’d been saddened to learn that about fifteen had died by various means. Several were lost to cancer, one was lost to domestic violence, and five had died in vehicular accidents. Another few were doing time in prison, not that she was surprised to learn who was doing the time. Alistair, school troublemaker extraordinaire, was doing time for murdering his girlfriend while Dick Roman was in prison for embezzlement. Crowley had just gotten out after seven years on drug charges but was on house arrest and couldn’t come, not that he had wanted to. A few others lived too far away and still others just didn’t care to reconnect. They were glad to leave their high school years behind them. 

Charlie had brought her family, her wife Gilda and their two sons, Mason and Frankie. The boys were happily running around with a whole slew of other kids and enjoying themselves while Gilda worked the grill they had brought with. Charlie was busy greeting people just arriving and handing out name tags since twenty years had done a lot to change them all. When a familiar form clad in jeans and a black tee shirt started walking towards her, she squealed excitedly.

“Dean! It’s so good to see you!” She hugged him tight, and he chuckled as he hugged her back.

“Hey, this is some shindig you arranged,” he said as he looked around at all of the people. 

“Most of our graduating class, minus the bad seeds,” she replied with a wink. 

“Daddy, ik moet bij je blijven!” 

Dean leaned down to scoop up a little girl with curly, light brown hair and the bluest eyes Charlie had ever seen. She was gorgeous.

“Is this your little girl?” she asked.

“Yep, this is Violet,” he replied proudly.

Charlie turned her attention to the little girl. “Well hello, Violet. That is a very pretty name for a very pretty little girl. How old are you?”

Violet preened at the compliment. “I’m four. Imma be fives inna Nobember. That’s when my birfday is.” 

“Wow, such a big girl. You’re starting kindergarten next year then. That’s when my little boy Frankie starts kindergarten. His birthday is right before yours in October,” Charlie told her.

“I am in school. My sister Rose is two and my baby brudders are new.” Violet leaned towards Charlie and wrinkled her nose as she whispered, “They smell bad.”

“Violet!” Dean was having a hard time chastising his daughter because he was laughing. She grinned at him.

“Dey has poopy butts, Daddy,” she said matter of factly. Dean shook his head.

“So you have four kids? All under five? Are you married?” Charlie asked.

“I am. Could I leave Violet with you for a bit? I need to go and get the cooler and the rest of the stuff we brought. We have our own grill,” he replied as he set his daughter down.

“Of course. Do you need any help?” She held out her hand and Violet took it.

“Nah, we’ll be ok.” He started back across the field in the direction of the parking lot, which Charlie couldn’t quite see from where she was standing under the gazebo.

“Was that Dean Winchester?”

Charlie turned to see a Lisa Braeden standing a few feet away, also watching Dean’s retreating form.

“The one and only,” she confirmed. “This is his little girl Violet.” Violet smiled and waved. Lisa smiled and waved back.

“Wow, Dean Winchester, with kids. He sure makes them pretty.” 

Charlie snickered, but she had to agree, Violet was beautiful. 

“Holy…” Lisa caught herself before she inadvertently swore. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she looked back across the field. Charlie turned her head to see what she was so shocked about. She grinned as she watched Dean pushing a stroller in front of him as he brought the rest of his family along. Behind Dean was Cas, pulling a wagon loaded up with picnic supplies.

“Hey, so this is Leaf and Forest. Cas has our daughter Rose,” Dean said as he came to a stop in front of Charlie. 

“They’re beautiful. What is up with all of the plant names though?” Charlie asked. She thought the names were cute, but curiosity had always been her biggest problem.

“Oh, I named the kids. I wanted names that would be natural. Flowers for the girls, non-flowering plants and trees for the boys. If we’d had another boy, we’d have named him Aspen,” Cas replied as he set Rose down. The little girl had a head full of tight, dark-brown ringlets that bounced as she tried to skip around. 

“Goodness, they’re all so beautiful!” Lisa said as she stepped closer to look at the twins. They were sleeping peacefully at the moment. Dean smiled and reached out for his husband’s hand. Cas took it, all the while keeping a close watch on Rose.

“Thank you. We’re done though. The twins are it for us,” Dean said.

“So you two got married then.” Charlie could see the bands on either of their left hands.

“Oh, we’ve gotten married three times already,” Cas laughed. 

“What’s up with the accents? Are you guys not living here in the states? And did I hear Violet say something not in English earlier?” Charlie thought she had detected something in Dean’s voice earlier, and it was hard to tell with Violet since she talked so fast, but there was definitely something noticeable in Cas’.

“Oh, we are here on vacation to visit our parents. We actually live in the Netherlands now. Dean and I teach at a university there,” Cas replied. “But we come back home three or four times a year. Less now that we have so many kids.” He laughed.

“The Netherlands! Why on Earth are you there?” Charlie gasped.

“Marriage wasn’t legal here, so we left. We moved there because at least we would be acknowledged as a couple. It was right after we finished up our bachelor's degrees. What was that, babe, May of ninety eight?” Dean looked at his husband, who nodded.

“Yes. And in April of 2001 marriage was legalized. We married April thirtieth. Lines were long, so we had to wait,” Cas explained.

“Wow. And the kids? They’re biologically yours?” Lisa asked.

“As much as this might surprise you, biologically Violet is Cas’s, and Rose is mine. We tossed both in with the twins, so we don’t really know. Could both be mine, could both be his, or one of each. They’re fraternal,” Dean replied.

“How did they handle the flight?” Charlie asked.

“Oh, their nanny came with us. She’s a real angel. Her name’s Hannah. We let her stay at my parents’ house and relax this afternoon. She needs it,” Cas laughed.

“Running around after four kids, no doubt!” Charlie laughed. A little boy with a head full of bright red curls ran up and wrapped himself around Charlie’s leg.

“Mommy, I’m hungry.” 

She ran her fingers through his hair. “Ok, Mama is making you a hot dog right now. Why don’t you go ask her if it’s ready?”

He let go of her leg and ran off again.

“That is your little one?” Cas asked, smiling. No doubt, the child was a clone of his mother. Charlie grinned.

“Yep, my mini me. I have two boys. I’ve been married since two thousand and eight. My wife and I have two boys. Mason is six and Frankie is four. I was telling Dean that he’ll be five right before Violet.” 

Cas looked at Lisa, having to read her name tag first. He remembered her; she’d been nice to him in school.

“And you, Lisa? Do you have children?”

“Yes, I have a son. He’s around here somewhere. He’s nine. His name’s Ben.”

“That’s wonderful, we’d love to meet him. Is he playing with that large group of- Rose! Kom terug hier!” Cas cut himself off as he raced to grab their daughter as she reached for food on one of the tables.

“Oh, that’s Victor’s table. He and Benny are sharing one with their families,” Lisa said. “They were off playing football with some of the older kids. I think Benny said his son is sixteen. And Victor’s is twelve. Their wives are around here somewhere. So are the rest of their kids.” She was looking around. “Ah, that’s Victor’s wife, Lorraine, in the blue sundress, and the woman next to her in the black leggings and flowered top is Benny’s wife, Andrea.” 

“I’ll have to catch up with them in a bit. It’s good to see you both. I need to get the grill set up; my kids have never had an American hot dog before, so this should be interesting,” Dean chuckled as he found Cas and passed the stroller to him. Cas had Rose on his hip as he gave Dean a quick kiss.

 

“I see some things haven’t changed.” 

Charlie and Lisa both turned to see Meg walking over, that familiar smirk on her lips. Charlie nodded.

“It’s nice to see that after all these years they’re still in love.”

They all turned back to watch as Cas entertained both of his daughters while Dean got the grilling started. It was cute to see how he interacted with his children.

“The moment one of those babies is awake, I’m borrowing one,” Charlie teased. Cas grinned and nodded.

“You are more than welcome to!” he called back. Some other kids wandered over, and Cas was talking to them. Other old classmates came as well, and he was greeting each one, and Dean joined him as he waited for the charcoal to get hot. They still gravitated naturally towards one another, reaching out to touch, or linking hands as they talked to everyone. 

“It’s nice to see that they never changed. I knew when we were kids those two would end up together.” Meg had a genuine smile on her face, and Charlie was pretty sure that was the first time she had ever seen one on her.

“It is,” Lisa agreed. “I only went to school with them in high school and I had such a crush on Dean for like, the first three years, but we all heard the rumors, and we could all see how they looked at one another. I wanted a boy to look at me the way Dean looked at Cas. Never did really happen, but I’m ok with that.” She smiled, and there was no pain in it. “I’m really fine being single.”

“I was in a long term relationship for six years before I met my wife. Right outta high school. Thought I was going to marry Dorothy, but she got bored, cheated, I moved out, met Gilda a few months later. We dated a long time before we tied the knot, then we waited a while longer before we had kids, but I had some trust issues, and she understood. I really lucked out finding her.” Charlie had nothing but love and adoration for her wife.

“I got married at nineteen, was divorced by twenty three with a baby and back home living with my parents as I tried to put myself through college. I met Joe and we dated for a few years. Then I got pregnant with Jack and Joe stepped up, told me he couldn’t imagine his life without me. We were married in a small ceremony two months later. He’s the best thing that has ever happened to me, and trust me, he could have really been an ass when Hailey came up pregnant, but he has raised her since she was a baby, and she calls him dad, and Dexter will call him grandpa. Right now he calls everyone dada,” Meg chuckled.

“How old is he?” Lisa asked. 

“Seven months. They grow so fast.” Meg replied.

“That they do,” Dean said as he walked over.

“So you’ve been married fifteen years now?” Charlie asked him.

“Yes, but we’ve basically been together since we were ten, so...twenty eight years? I could never picture myself with anyone but him,” he said.

“We couldn’t picture you with anyone else either.” Meg teased. They all laughed, and Dean joined in with them.

“Yes, well, I owe one nosy little redhead here a world of gratitude. I don’t know how much longer we would have continued on the way we were if Charlie here hadn’t asked us if we were dating. Cas and I had a long, _long_ talk that went on for several weeks after that, going over what exactly we expected from a relationship. He made it very clear right up front that he wanted to marry me, and that if I wasn’t in it for the long haul, then we shouldn’t start a relationship at all. But I knew he was it. I knew it when I was ten years old.” Dean chuckled. “I wasn’t giving him up for anything. It was weird and kind of freaky talking about marriage when we were only eighteen, but I know how he works, and he needed a firm plan set in place. We were already planning to go to school together, so we decided that after we graduated with our bachelor's degrees, we would find a place where we could legally be at least partners, if not actually married. He formally proposed right before we actually left for college, and I’m still wearing that engagement ring.” He held up his hand so they could see the two bands on his left ring finger. One looked rather banged up “We got through four years of school and did our research on where to go before deciding to go to the Netherlands, so we were taking language lessons before we finally moved there. We went on student visas, applied for citizenship, and by the time we had that, we had finished with our masters, had a house, were citizens, and our union was officially recognized. From there, we got married, concentrated on our careers, and then about ten years ago I sort of got the itch to start our family, so we looked for a surrogate. Cas...is picky, though. We took our time until he found a surrogate he liked, but she miscarried three months in, so we waited a year and tried again with a new surrogate. We had Violet with her. I went back to the first surrogate because I liked her. She was beautiful, and I had seen the children she already had and they were gorgeous. We had Rose and when we decided we wanted another baby, we went back to her and she gave us our sons.” He glanced back at his husband, who was handing slices of watermelon to their daughters but also to other kids that were there. Charlie’s son was among them. When he turned back around he was smiling. “I want more kids. Cas, he is a bit overwhelmed right now, but maybe in four or five years, when the boys are in school I can talk him into one more.”

The ladies all giggled at that. 

“Never took you for the type to want a houseful of kids,” Charlie teased. She and Dean had actually become pretty good friends that last year of school.

“I never saw a future for myself until Cas told me he loved me. Then I dared to dream.” That was really how he had felt all those years ago. He was so concentrated on surviving high school, but also with keeping Cas close that until those words actually left Cas’ lips, he hadn’t dared to imagine a future beyond what was immediately happening. Now he dreamt of their future together. As long as he had Cas in his life, the rest would fall into place.

 

[](http://www.pizap.com/image/707476471pizapw1466107425.jpg)  
[](http://www.pizap.com/u/707476471) on [piZap.com](http://www.pizap.com)

**Author's Note:**

> Just some fluffy goodness. I hope you liked it. :)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> **TRANSLATIONS**
> 
>  
> 
> Words spoken by Violet are in dutch. When Cas yells at Rose, he is also yelling in Dutch.
> 
>  
> 
> _ik moet bij je blijven _: I'm supposed to stay with you__
> 
>  
> 
> _  
> __Kom terug hier_ : Come back here_  
>  _


End file.
